


Trench Coat

by ellerkay



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Humor, M/M, Newly Human Castiel (Supernatural), Polyamory, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 15:05:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18780703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellerkay/pseuds/ellerkay
Summary: Castiel was having a problem with his trench coat.





	Trench Coat

**Author's Note:**

> Written the SPN Poly Bingo, the Clothes Sharing square.
> 
> Handwaving away the events of S9 as usual, because I love the idea of newly human Cas living in the bunker with Sam and Dean and I'm going to write it to my heart's content.

Castiel was having a problem with his trench coat.

He reflected that it was quite a relief that this was the biggest problem in his life at the moment. He’d moved into the bunker with Sam and Dean several weeks ago, and he liked living with them very much. They all slept in a large bed together. It felt safe and cozy. He was still learning to be human, but Sam and Dean’s guidance was very helpful.

Except that they kept stealing his trench coat.

The first time, Castiel had just finished taking a shower. He found this process slow, annoyingly complicated, and somewhat lonely. When Sam or Dean or both joined him, it was a great deal more enjoyable. But it also took even more time. Castiel was trying to learn to be independent, so he had insisted on showering alone, even though Dean had made a _humph_ noise and Sam had given him puppy dog eyes. (That was what Dean called a frequent expression of Sam’s, although Castiel didn’t see anything canine about Sam’s face in those moments.)

Castiel got dressed in a t-shirt and one of the pairs of jeans the Winchesters had helped him pick out at the Wal-Mart. Castiel had found it to be a very overwhelming store, but full of useful items. It seemed to have nearly every tool necessary for human existence.

When Castiel was clothed, he looked around for his coat. It wasn’t on the bed where he had left it. He frowned. He’d been slowly getting used to changing clothes, but the trench coat was soothing in its continuity. He still liked to wear it much of the time.

He went into the Men of Letter’s map room. Dean was hunched over a laptop, wearing the trench coat.

“That’s my coat,” Castiel said.

“Huh?” Dean didn’t look up from the screen.

“Why are you wearing my coat?”

Dean finally glanced at him, then down at the coat. “I dunno, I was chilly and it was there.” He shrugged out of it and tossed it at Castiel. “Here you go.”

Castiel put it on, feeling faintly puzzled.

The next day, Dean had insisted Castiel leave it behind while they went to the grocery store, saying it was too warm to wear. He was correct; the day was mild, and Castiel probably would have taken it off. Regulating body temperature, he had found, was a constant chore.

When they got home, Castiel found Sam dozing in one of the armchairs in the library with the trench coat laid over him like a blanket.

“That’s my coat,” Castiel said quietly, but he didn’t want to wake Sam. He touched Sam’s soft hair gently and let him keep sleeping.

This kept happening. Every time Castiel took the trench coat off, it would disappear. He would find it later: thrown over Sam’s chair or in the backseat of the Impala. He caught Dean wearing it another couple times. Sam never did – it was probably too small for his broad shoulders – but Castiel found it draped over his legs once, keeping them warm.

Castiel was bemused. He liked that his trench coat seemed to be useful to the people he loved, but he missed it when it was on one of its excursions. Finally, he conceived of a plan.

Dean had taught him to drive, so he took one of the cars in the Men of Letters’ garage out, since he still wasn’t allowed to drive the Impala when Dean wasn’t there. He went back to the Wal-Mart and wandered the seemingly endless aisles until he found what he was looking for.

“I have purchased gifts for both of you,” he announced when he returned to the bunker. He held the Wal-Mart bags out triumphantly. Dean and Sam blinked at him.

Sam was the first to recover. “Thanks, Cas,” he said, smiling tenderly as he accepted the bag. Dean grabbed his and opened it eagerly.

“Dude, what?” he said blankly, when he pulled out a trench coat. Sam was looking at his larger, otherwise identical one with a puzzled expression.

“This was nice of you, Cas, but…why?” he asked.

“You both like mine so much,” Castiel said. “You’re always stealing it.”

“Borrowing!” Dean said indignantly.

Sam grinned. “This was really sweet, Cas,” he said. “But we like yours because it’s yours.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It makes us think of you,” Sam said. “It smells like you.”

“Dude, no, that’s creepy,” Dean protested. Sam shot him a look.

“That’s definitely one of the reasons you like it, Dean. Don’t lie.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny your weird theory.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Sam continued in an exasperated tone. “It’s because it’s yours, Cas. Not so much because we want trench coats.” He shrugged. “I can’t speak for Dean, but for me, when something good happens – like getting to be with you – it’s hard not to worry that it’s not going to last. Or I get afraid – not logically – that it’s, I don’t know...not really real. Grabbing your coat is a way of holding on to you even when you’re not around. Reminding myself that we get to be with you.”

Castiel looked at Dean, who shrugged and took a sip of beer. He was making the face Castiel had come to recognize as hiding emotion.

“Well,” Castiel said slowly. “I am very real. And I am not planning on going anywhere.”

Sam smiled warmly at him. Dean smiled at his beer.

“But if it helps,” Castiel continued, “I will wear all three of these. So they will all be mine, and they will all have my scent.”

“Creepy,” Dean muttered, but he was looking up and grinning now.

“And then I will always have one when I need it,” Castiel finished. “All three of us will.”

Still smiling, Sam leaned forward and reached out, drawing Castiel into a gentle kiss. “Thanks, Cas,” he said. “You’re very thoughtful.”

“I was just being practical,” Castiel said. “I like my coat.”

Dean, who had gotten to his feet, chuckled and kissed Castiel, too. “Well, way to problem-solve, man.”

Castiel smiled. He felt like he was starting to get the hang of this human thing.


End file.
